Gravity
by Xactly My Type
Summary: What happens when the stress of the oncoming war eats away at Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy? Two people who are so desperate to forget everything going on around them, even if it's only for a little while. Set in 6th year? Smut. Probably a little OOC. Disclaimer - I OWN NOTHING
1. Intro

He walked up the stone stair case, his feet falling heavily and clumsily. Every muscles in his body aching. He was exhausted, mentally and physically. The only thing keeping him awake was the sound of his own foot steps reverberating, bouncing around on the surrounding stone.

He couldn't wait to collapse on his bed, he welcomed the engulfing darkness of a heavy sleep that was weighing down his body. He continued his march in a mindless trance, he hadn't even realized he pushed the heavy door to the shared bedroom open until it creaked, the way things due in an old castle. None of the other boys stirred, he wouldn't care if he had waken them all up anyway.

He didn't even bother to strip off his clothes as he made his way to the enticing site of his green and silver sheets and he just barely managed to kick off his shoes before tumbling backwards, landing with a soft, comforting thud. Somehow he had managed to adjust his fall accordingly and his head landed perfectly onto his waiting pillow.

He had been coming back later and later on nights like this. Strands of his white blonde hair stuck to his forehead with dried sweat, annoyingly close to his eyes. He didn't bother swiping them away. Moonlight seeped in from a window whose curtains were skewed, the irritating invading light made him restless, but his heavy lidded eyes slid shut as he turned his head away and his cheek pressed against the cool fabric of his pillow cover.

He inhaled deeply wanting nothing more to forget the night's events. But there it was, invading his senses, lingering, surrounding him, stuck to every inch of his clothing, of his skin. That scent, of warm honey and tea leaves and sunshine. It haunted him, how it clung to him, following him, never letting him forget, never letting him forgive himself. His eyes flew open and he knew there would be no sleep tonight.

He was too tired to stop his wandering thoughts as he tried to think back to the exact moment he had gotten himself into this mess.

It was only a few weeks after school began again. Still early October, but the air was becoming crisp in the night. The war was coming. He was getting more and more pressure put on him by his family and peers. He was to follow in his father's footsteps and become the dark lord's obedient, faithful, unquestioning servant. To be used and tossed away as Voldemort pleased.

He has been groomed for this his whole life, but the weight was finally pulling him down. Now, he looked for any excuse to get away from the never ending talk of attack and battles and strategies. He had grown tired of his fellow Slytherins talk of comradery, it seemed like every night in the common room they talked about the same things, the nights began to blur together and were becoming rather boring.

Tonight was no different. Here he was, surrounded by the people who claimed to be his friends, Pansy, Blaise, Crabbe, Goyle, all chatting it up about taking on the dark mark like it was every wizards dream. It made him want to grab each of them by the shoulders and shake them senseless. They were lambs, too willing to board the truck taking them to the slaughter house. It made his stomach flip.

He pushed himself out of the lounge chair he had claimed and left. Their talking became hushed whispers and their eyes followed him, but no one would question where the prince of Slytherin was off to, even if it was near midnight.

Draco didn't much worry about getting caught out after curfew, he knew Snape or his father would handle any repercussion from annoying, nosey professors that would ensue. Little did he know, he was going to be dealt a fate far worse than what any professor could dish out to him.


	2. Chapter 1

He had been wandering the halls for what felt like hours, left alone with his thoughts bouncing around in his skull unbearably, threatening to crack it in two. He focused on the scuffing of his shoes against the corridor floor, he was working on mapping out every inch of the castle trying to occupy his busy mind.

He was wandering farther down halls he didn't even recognize, doing anything to keep himself from having to return to the dormitory. He carefully avoided the passages often traveled by professors on watch and had barely noticed the annoying, stuck up, know it all, wild haired Gryffindor girl until he practically tripped over her.

He stopped suddenly when he caught sight of her, his hands stuffed into his trouser pockets. She was leaning with her back up against the stone wall, facing towards a tall window that let in the silver moonlight, illuminating her figure perfectly. She had her head tilted down as her gaze was trained on the ground. Draco wondered if she had seen him or not. He contemplated turning around and leaving, pretending he had never seen her here at all.

Her mass of curls were surrounding her face, framing it, as the pale light shone against it, making it gleam in the surrounding darkness. The light made her look pale, but her skin was smooth, her lips set in a manner that made her seem indifferent to everything around her. It made her look like a carving of a stone angel.

Suddenly, he had the urge to walk over to her, he wanted to trace her bottom lip with his finger, to memorize its texture, to see if it felt like the cool, flawless marble it looked like. He recoiled at his own thoughts, blaming his tired mind. Surely, if he had half the sense he did when he was well rested, he would never think of doing something so disgusting. Draco just sneered at Hermione viciously.

"Perfect." He said, his voice penetrating through the cool air, almost sounding too loud as your voice often does when you know everyone else around you is sleeping.

"Running into a sodding Gryffindor, just my luck. Going to run and snitch on me now, are you?" He was looking for a fight and she was the perfect candidate.

"Leave me be, Malfoy." She said on an exhale. She had none of the usual sharpness in her tone, there was no inclination that she was up for their usual banter, she didn't even bother to look up at him when she spoke. His heart sunk at the thought. But he quickly rebounded Since when had the occasional quarrel with the mudblood witch become something he looked forward to...?

"As if I'd waste my time with you, Granger." He snarled, his lips twisting his sneer deeper, but it too was halfhearted and lacked its enthusiasm, he was so damn tired.

Draco allowed himself a better look at her then, his brain to heavy with sleep to feign his normal extreme indifference towards her, normally he wouldn't spare her a passing glance.

Dark circles around both eyes left her face looking hollow in the dim light. Just looking at her sagging shoulder made him want to curl up into a ball on the floor and give into his exhaustion even more. Hermione looked as though the only thing keeping her upright was the wall itself, she felt that way as well.

She brought her gaze up then, locking eyes, holding them across the darkness. The act itself should have been uncomfortable, here they were, enemies. On two different sides of the battle field simply waiting for the signal to let the first shot be fired and they both knew it. Instead, she felt nothing, not even the usual annoyance he evoked, towards her blonde haired antagonist.

The moonlight caught and pooled in her eyes, making Draco unable to look away. His breath caught in his throat. Her hair was tousled and he had an annoying inkling to swat the obscene curls out of her face. He stood like that for a while, wondering if he could remember a time he had ever seen the Gryffindor this quiet.

The silence didn't last too long however, It was Hermione that finally spoke.

She scoffed harshly, her throat cracking, as if she hadn't used her voice for a hundred years. "Shouldn't you be running off to kiss daddy's arse Malfoy?"

Hermione knew, even before it passed through her lips, that she should not say it, but she couldn't stand being near Malfoy and not fighting. The companionable silence was threatening to break her down. She watched his expression change, watched the sleep flee suddenly from his eyes and she saw the flash of anger and spite that flew across his features, hardening them.

In an instant he was there, in front of her. He had moved so fast Hermione had barely seen the movement at all, like a snake striking. Suddenly. she was upright, Draco's solid body creating a cage, trapping her against the stone. His hands, on either side of her head pressed hard against the stone wall. He was inches from her face, their noses almost touching. Draco was breathing heavy, almost panting with rage.

She drew a sharp intake of air, nearly holding her breath waiting for his next move. The hand closest to where her wand was concealed in her robes itched and was ready and waiting. Hermione had expected him to scream at her, to yell in her face and she was ready to yell back. She silently begged him to lash out at her, so she had an excuse to shout at him until her voice was hoarse.

On the surface Hermione Granger was staying composed, for Ron, for Harry, for Ginny, for everyone. She was the calm that anchored everyone when they were agitated and on edge. But it was wearing her down, keeping up appearances, keeping her studies in order, trying to talk the boys out of anything bloody idiotic. She wanted to break, she wanted to crack and splinter. She wanted the facade to come tumbling down so she could emerge and show what ridiculous mess she actually was.

What Draco did instead was much more frightening. She had to steady her own breathing to hear him, her heart beat thrummed in her ears. His voice carried on the still air between them, barely a whisp of breath between his lips.

"Don't you ever talk about my father, you filthy mudblood." He spat the words at her, sharp as knives.

She flinched at the sound of that word, more out of habit than anything else. It should have hurt, Hermione thought. But how many times could she hear the same thing, the same insult and still really be affected by it? Her heart had become calloused, people like Malfoy, their opinions didn't bother her anymore.

Draco's heart dropped when he saw her recoil at his words, but he didn't care, his blood was boiling. His skin prickled with the intense desire to hex the pompous Gryffindor. His teeth ground together, as he tried to rein in his temper, his jaw ached from the effort.

Hermione squared her shoulders, refusing to let him see her be effected by his ignorance. She stared Draco Malfoy straight in the eyes, she didn't back down from his silver glare. Draco couldn't help the flames of jealousy that started in his stomach. She was so brave and confident, never faltering, even now when glowering into the face of the enemy.

Then he noticed it again. How her skin seemed to call the moonlight to it. How it made the creeping blush across her cheeks look so inviting, it made him want to push his cheek against hers to feel the heat radiating off of them.

It caught in her eyes and hair and made them shimmer like a lake in the day. And suddenly his skin was prickling for another reason, suddenly he was all too aware of their proximity, of how he could feel her chest heave against his, how he could feel the wisps of her breath, stir his hair across his forehead. He moved his gaze down to her mouth, it was slightly open and those lips….

_Oh merlin those lips_ he thought as he let out a huff of breath.

They looked so comforting, so soft. A deep ache formed in his chest as he silently pleaded for her arms, that lay limp at her sides, to come up and reach around him and pull him in. He could almost feel her hips flush against his. It sent heat up his legs, a tight coil in his stomach beginning to form.

He was so, so tired. His eyes stung with sleep. All he wanted was to forget about his family, his duty and this bloody war. He wanted to run, he wanted to loose himself in something, in anything.

Hermione could see the countless emotions play across Malfoys face. She saw when his gaze slipped from her eyes to her mouth. It made her breathing come harder and her stomach tighten. She clenched the fists at her sides until her knuckles turned white, but she did not move, she would not show weakness to him.

She could feel him shift, moving closer to her, his chest pushing against hers, his arms roped with lean muscled on either side of her head. Hermione took in the sharp features of his face and for a brief moment thought she could see how any woman might find him attractive.

Her eyes fluttered shut as she took in a rasping breath, willing her body to calm, preparing to throw another insult out at the infuriating Slytherin. Instead Hermione felt the stroke of his nose against hers. It sent shudders racking down her body. Her breath hitched in her throat as she looked up into the silver eyes out of shock.

He couldn't tell you now, even to this day, how or why it happened. But without even intending to, and without warning his nose stroked along hers. Doe eyed, she looked up at him in wonder, her mouth parted slightly. He could taste her breath, it sent a tingle down his spine. He looked back at her with lidded eyes before his lips were grazing hers. The blush from Hermione's face making them warm, he wanted to memorize the taste of them.

_This is what sunshine tastes like_

Every muscle in Draco's body was exhausted, but the soft contact of her lips made his body jump with electricity. He felt fire ignite in his blood and pulse through his veins and all he wanted was more. Involuntarily he groaned as he felt her gasp, heat pooling relentlessly in his lower stomach. He shifted as his trousers became uncomfortably restricting.

Draco's soft lips were against hers, so lightly she thought she might be imagining it. But heat pooled in her stomach as her breath stopped all together. She felt as though he was stealing the air from her lungs. Heat danced across her skin, throbbing with want to feel his long, slender hands dance across her flushed skin. colors danced across her eye lids.

Heat burst across his face and down his neck almost violently. Draco pushed his arms harder against the wall to keep them from shaking.

Hermione could taste the desperation and need on his lips and for a moment, let herself savor it.

His head was swimming. Hermione's lungs burned with the need for air, Draco could feel her chest rise against his and it made a tight knot coil in his stomach. He wanted to dip his head into the crook of her shoulder, to really taste her. To worship her swelling breasts, but he was consumed with feeling of his lips against hers.

Draco felt her relax against him. She moaned in content and it vibrated through him, arousing every one of his nerves, filling his ears and all he could think about was coaxing more sweet noises from her. He wanted to hear her breath in his ear, to make her plead and beg for him with his teeth against her pulse and his body wrapped around her. He needed it.

Hermione willed her body back under her control, but couldn't stop the mewling he evoked from deep within her. He felt _so God damn good._

Not even Viktor had made her body respond like this. Hermione felt like she was on fire, she could feel her core throb with want. Her thighs rubbed together involuntarily, trying to find any kind of friction for release.

When the need for air became to great they broke apart. Hermione could feel Malfoy's forehead pressed against hers, holding him steady. Neither of them dared to open their eyes. They both panted heavily, their hearts racing, as Hermione stopped to feel their breaths mingling in the dark.

She brought her hand up to tangle it in his blonde hair. To take all he had to offer. Before she could lose herself completely, Hermione's brain kick started on…

_What the bloody hell are you doing Granger…_

Draco's head was wretched to the side. Gone was the addicting sound of Grangers moan, it was replaced with a loud ringing of the slap she had promptly delivered. He stepped back still with his gaze to the side, not watching as she ran down the corridor, away from him. As he listened to her footsteps fast retreating he knew he had made a mistake.

He could feel the red mark from her palm searing his skin. She had left his entire body buzzing. He licked his lips and tasted her and groaned wishing he could chase after her.

Draco shook his head. _Don't be a stupid git_

He turned on his heels and headed back towards the dungeons, towards his dormitory to his waiting bed. No sleep would come to him that night as he tossed and turned, his thoughts consumed with messy curls and the taste of tea that lingered on his lips.

Reviews are always appreciated. Let me know what you guys think.


	3. Chapter 2

In case you haven't noticed, this is not a story that will be updated at regular intervals. Sadly, life and myjob come before writing :(

However, I am trying to stay ahead of the game and get chapters out as soon as I can to you guys, so enjoy!

* * *

><p>Draco swore up and down on Salzar Slytherins grave that he would never think of, look at or touch a Gryffindor in any way shape or form again, unless it was to cause them bodily or emotional damage..<p>

But he never was very good at keeping promises.

It had been 9 days. 9 days since Draco Malfoy had pushed Hermione Mudblood Granger up against a wall and kissed her. And it was driving him mad. She wouldn't look at him, wouldn't even acknowledge his existence, not that he really acknowledged hers before hand, expect for the occasional quip or insult.

Draco tried forgetting about it, but on the nights he slept, he dreamed of sunshine and tea on his lips. The nights he tossed and turned restlessly were no better, he would guilt himself fitfully awake, telling himself his reaction to her was only because of the stress put on him by the oncoming war.

He tried to ignore her. He fought the annoying voice at the back of his head that was screaming at him.

_Find her, bring her to her knees, make her beg, make the bitch pay for making you feel this way._

Truth be told, Draco wasn't sure what he was feeling. He felt betrayed, by his parents, by all the morals he thought he had ever known. He felt lied to, if pure bloods were so superior, he shouldn't be fighting himself to not catch any glance he could at Granger.

He felt disgusting, because he wanted to see how the light caught in her eyes, he wanted to feel her warm blush heating his skin, he wanted to memorize the way she sounded, the way she tasted. But more than anything, he felt defeated by his own beliefs.

Now he was doing the only thing he knew how to do and was quite good at, to squelch the burning itching crawling over his flesh that just so happened to occur whenever she walked into the same room as him.

Lashing out. He brooded and snapped at everyone that gave him half a reason. His father was less than pleased with his new found attitude. Snape was even less pleased and his Slytherin roommates avoided eye contact at all costs.

At every turn he cursed the filthy mudblood, grumbling under his breath whenever she annoyingly raised her hand in class to answer a question.

Draco wasn't the type to be caught up on anyone, let alone a muggle born. He dropped girls without a second thought or care and now know-it-all Granger left him in the dust, wanting.

It made his temper flare at inopportune times. He snapped irritably at Pansy in Potions class when she wouldn't shut up about cursing all the Gryffindor's after Voldemort took over. She sulked and pouted after him and it put him in an even pissier mood.

It didn't help that one row over was Granger, blatantly pretending he didn't even exist.

He felt ridiculous. He felt rejected. He felt sick.

She should be graveling at his knees, she should be honored that he had even thought about touching her. It was now more than ever that he had an extreme hate towards mudbloods, but it was only one particular mudblood and it wasn't for the reasons he thought it should be.

The only thing that kept him from going absolutely insane was his late night walks around Hogwarts. But even that didn't chase away his thoughts of Granger. Whether it was intentional or not, he would always find himself down that hallway he had seen her in that night.

It had been a particularly agitating day. He hadn't paid attention to any of his lessons, his head was throbbing, he had been uncontrollably antsy, he shifted his weight from foot to foot unable to get comfortable. People were starting to take notice of how restless he had become.

Goyle had even asked if he was ok. Draco brushed off his questions, avoiding giving any answer beyond a grunt or huff. He had to get a grip.

_If I ever got close enough to Granger again I'm going to murder her. _

He had been wandering for hours again. Aimlessly, trying to sort through everything that was going on in his head. He thought of his parents and wanting to make them proud, he thought of his aunt and the bloodshed that was to come.

He thought about serving a lord who believed in all the values that Draco had once held so high in esteem, but were now crumbling down around him. But most of all, he thought about a dark mark that would burn and haunt him for the rest of his life.

Draco looked up into the darkness, breaking free from the concerns that plagued him relentlessly. Here he was again, starring down the corridor to where Hermione Granger had possessed him.

He remembered how his hands had shook the whole way walking back to the Slytherin dorms. Anger bubbled up inside of him, breaching his surface, making his skin flush pink with heat.

Fucking bitch

He turned on his heels to leave, the last thing he wanted was to walk by that spot tonight or have any more of those thoughts parading around his in his head.

But before he could get into the next corridor and escape the view of where he surely had lost his sanity, a mass of brown tumbling curls in a school uniform, accented with the red and gold colors of the house that evoked so much irritation, appeared walking out of the stone wall.

Hermione caught site of that shock of blonde hair in the dim light right away. There was no doubting who it belonged to, even if she couldn't see the long lean body of the Slytherin. She couldn't stop her stomach from dropping or her heart from jumping in her throat.

Draco was caught off guard and stood shocked, but just for a second. He quickly recomposed as one thing was very obvious, Hermione, who was no more than 50 feet in front of him, was taken back even more so than he was.

Well, well. What do we have here.

He couldn't help the smirk that rose across his features as Hermione stood stock still in front of him, like a cornered animal. Except she wasn't cornered. And when that realization hit her she took off running in the other direction.

Draco's smirk grew wider and then he was after her. It didn't take much to make up the ground and catch up to the Gryffindor. His legs were longer, he was faster, stronger, he was an athlete. For those same reasons, it took just as little effort to grab her by the back of her shoulders, spin her around and push her against the wall.

She squirmed against him, but he could see the circles under her eyes were even deeper than before. She was too tired to put up much of a fight. He was towering over her, Draco had her pinned. Again.

His heart was racing. He tightened the grip on her shoulders, his long fingers digging into the cotton material. It was enough to stop her thrashing around. She set her chin and glared at him defiantly. He scoffed.

If looks could kill.

He was ready for the storm to come, he needed to fight with her, for some reason unknown to him, unknown to either of them, for whatever reason they were put in each others lives to bother the hell out of one another.

"I fancy that little trick of yours, Granger. Really, I never knew you could walk through walls."

"Bugger off, Malfoy" She spat at him. Just as ready to fight as he was.

He could feel his smirk curve into a snarl.

"Don't reckon I will, Mudblood. Not until you tell me what it was I just saw." He motioned down the corridor with a toss of his head.

"Go to Hell" She struggled against him again, but it was useless. He pushed back to still her against the wall.

Draco leaned in closer, almost brushing his lips against her ears. She tensed against him, but he could feel the heat coming off of her. He suppressed the shiver of pleasure that was threatening to race down his spine.

"Funny thing is, I don't think you have much room for argument here."

His whisper was hot against her skin. It made her legs feel weak, she wanted to collapse against him. He drew back and she was left feeling the emptiness in the space between them.

Hermione closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her jumping nerves. Draco couldn't help but watch the slow rise and fall of her chest.

I want to taste every inch of your skin…

When she opened her eyes, he broke from his reverie. He was cursing himself again, this girl was driving him mad, he hated her more than anything.

Get your shit together, Draco.

Hermione was glaring at him, her anger and frustration palpable. She clenched her jaw until it ached, weighing her optioned. There was no way to escape, once again she was trapped between Malfoys leaned muscled body and a stone wall.

Draco was meeting her glare, he was never the type to back down from anything.

She huffed as she came to terms with the dilemma she was facing. Fighting off the stone wall might be easier

Draco breath stirred the curls surrounding her face, it creeped over her skin, making her flesh jump to life. He wasn't even touching her, but she could feel her heart racing, pounding against her chest as she silently begged him to.

She pushed the thought into the back of her head. It was only because it had been so long since anyone looked at her the way Malfoy was looking at her now. Like the world hung on the next words that would pass through her lips, that she even thought those things,

Deflecting your emotions because of stress, she psycho-analyzed herself, that is the only explanation.

"Fine."

She squeezed her arms in between them to cross over her chest. She thought it would put enough space between them to allow her to gain her composure. Except her forearms brushed up against his solid chest. She wanted to spread her fingers across the muscle, the feel his heart beat under her palms.

Her lips were slightly parted, Draco wanted to capture them with his own. His skin was buzzing from her grazing against him. He wanted to pull her flush against him, to feel her squirm against every inch of him…

"It's a room."

He scoffed. "Bloody hell, you are brilliant aren't you?" The sarcasm dripped off each word. "I figured it was a room, Granger. But why don't you tell me what kind of room you are sneaking around in past curfew."

Hermione could never remember being so agitated with someone that she scowled at them, but Malfoy had just pushed her to that point.

She managed to shove her way past him, avoiding as much contact as possible and started walking back where they came from. There was no point in trying to get away from the infuriating blonde twat, Hermione knew there was no way she could out run him, Draco knew it too.

So despite her attempt at a fast pace in hope of leaving Malfoy trailing behind, with his long legs and his own quick pace he shortly caught up with her and was beside her matching her stride for stride.

Her face was intense, looking straight ahead as she strained to not glance out the side of her eye at the tall boy next to her. She tried to not notice his sharp jaw line smattered with stubble, or his slender strong arms roped with muscle, or the way his shirt clung to his chest when he walked..

She stopped and turned facing the stone pattern she had become so accustom too the past weeks. She memorized every nook and cranny so she wouldn't forget where she had to go.

This place had become her sanctuary, the only reason she had survived and not gone absolutely mad this long. And now, by force, she was about to show it to the one person in the entire world that she wanted to share it with least.

Hermione pulled her wand from her robes, gave Malfoy a quick 'I resent you more than anything on thisplanet' look and passed her wand over the seemingly normal stone wall and whispered the charm

"Revelio"

At first there was nothing and Draco soon became impatient waiting for something to happen. He shifted his weight from foot to foot and just as he was about to say something rude, as usual, the wall began to shimmer like the heat rising off black top. He caught a glimpse of the wild haired Gryfindors wide, proud of herself, smile before she stepped forward into the wall and disappeared.

She watched as Malfoy stepped through the doorway hidden away from the rest of the Hogwarts inhabitants. He had always seemed so high and mighty to her. Like he was above everyone else, but now, watching him glance around the room, assessing it all, Hermione saw something different in the upright tense set of his shoulders, how his hands hung at his sides and his brows furrowed in unanswered questions.

She realized now that Malfoy looked more like an awkward shy git than a total wanker. Until he opened his mouth of course.

The room was lined with book cases, the gold and silver lettering engraved into the spines of all shades of colors glistened against the glow of the candles scattered and suspended just below the high ceiling. Where there was small spaces between book cases the color of deep burgundy walls were visible.

In the middle of the room was a long wooden table, with a single chair on each side. The backs where tall, carved into a circular emblem in the center was symbol for each house. At the far end, Draco could see the red and gold griffin, with its wings spread, bright against the grainy wood, with a stack of books, parchment and ink in front of it.

Closer to where they stood, there was a large marble table with a couch of dark, aged leather on either side, very much like the ones present in the common rooms of each house.

"What is this?" He asked without giving away any emotion, he almost sounded bored she thought.

"I'm not sure yet. A room someone built a long time ago, that was forgotten. There are so many like it here, hidden around the castle. It presented itself to me one night." She was almost wistful. The room had amazed her when she first discovered it and now it had become more of a home to her then her own bedroom.

She shrugged her shoulders

"I suppose it knew I needed somewhere to hide away from it all for a bit."

"Hmpf" Was all he gave in answer. They stood together for a few long, strained moments. Hermione was debating how to tell him to leave.

Draco gave the room one last appraising look around and turned towards the hidden entrance.

Just as Hermione was beginning to think the whole situation was going perfectly, that Malfoy had no interest in a boring old room full of books and candles, he turned his head towards her just enough so she could make out his beautiful, arrogant, ear to ear grin and said with just a hint of too much amusement in his voice.

"I'll see you tomorrow night, Granger."

He stepped through the door way and disappeared back into the dark, crisp hallways of Hogwarts, leaving Hermione with her mouth gapped and grief stricken. Her stomach flipped as she thought about losing her peaceful retreat, the only place she could get away from all the struggles that had become her everyday life. The only place she found she was able to properly burry herself in her school work or a book without the activities beyond the castles walls intruding into her thoughts.

While Draco went back to his dorm and slept the first peaceful sleep he had in months, plotting a revenge, he wasn't completely sure was deserved, but pushing his guilt to the side to feed the more sadistic persona growing underneath, desperate to focus energies anywhere that did not involve a certain dark lord.

Hermione finally managed to collect her thoughts together, although slowly, and made her way back up to Gryffindor tower. She crawled under her sheets, curled up and silently cried, before forcing her composure. Harshly wiping tears from her cheeks, leaving angry red streaks. She would not let Malfoy destroy the only time she had to herself anymore, she would be stronger than him, as she always was.

Draco had never beat Hermione at anything and she wasn't about to let him start winning now.

* * *

><p>Thank you for the reviews everyone, as always they are appreciated, I love knowing what you guys are thinking and how you think I can make this better for everyone, so keep them coming!<p> 


	4. Chapter 3

Hermione couldn't focus on anything, there had been an Order meeting last night. They were planning their strategy, this war was happening. Both sides were getting ready to move, it was just a matter of time.

She couldn't get a word in, they were disorganized and fighting. Everyone had their own idea of how they should be preparing, but they were all blurting it out at the same time. There was no semblance of order

It was all Harry and Ron could talk about, it was all anyone could talk about and it was driving her mad. She didn't have any more tolerance for any more talk of wars or battles or strategies or who to trust and who not to trust. She had to get away from it. Her head was thrumming, she could hear the blood pulsing to her brain, she couldn't even concentrate on the book in front of her.

She groaned as she rubbed at her temple, then glanced over the top of the page at Malfoy who was sprawled from one end of the couch to the other, with his eyes on his own book, blonde hair fanned across his forehead.

She thought back to the first night they had shared this space with one another.

When Draco walked through the entrance the next night in his ruffled uniform, Hermione still couldn't quite believe how unlucky she had become. She had thought, or rather hoped Malfoy had been bluffing about coming back.

Draco had come in, nodded and grunted at Hermione, who was unable to hide her expression that was somewhere between shock and agitation, as she was perched quietly in her usual spot at the long ancient wood table on the Gryffindor chair, inspected the book cases quietly, picked one he found fitting, wandered over to the couch and sat down.

She couldn't help gawking at Draco, who made himself quite at home, sprawling out on the couch with his nose in that book, just like he was now. She tried to rationalize the ridiculous situation she had come to find herself in.

Keep your friends close and your enemies' closer….?

She shook that thought off, she wanted no part of getting anywhere that could be considered even close to Malfoy.

The evening had passed with an electric tenseness coursing through the air.

Draco had got up and left quietly, without even looking at Hermione, who had finally been able to settle in and get some work done, around sunrise.

They interacted awkwardly around each other.

He was acting so indifferent, like she wasn't even there. Which suited her just fine, except she couldn't stop feeling suspicious of him. She felt like a dog with her hackles raised waiting for Draco to start a fight, she felt almost silly when she continuously checked to be sure her wand was quickly reachable.

Then she would scold herself silently.

He is on voldemorts side, he wants you dead, no matter how ignorant he acts.

She tried to reciprocate, but the more she tried to ignore him the more she ended up paying attention to him.

For days it went on like that. Draco would show up at no certain time in the night, browse the book cases, or bring one of his own and settle himself on the couch which he would end up stretched out on by the end of the night.

It made her nerves stand on edge, she didn't like or trust a quiet Malfoy. But he couldn't keep his sharp tongue quiet for long. He didn't last longer than a week before he started throwing non-committal insults her way. It calmed her when he began to make quips at her once and a while.

She thought back to the annoyed tone he had used.

"Do you have to think so bloody loud, Granger? I can hear you from across the room."

She had let out an audible sigh of relief then, she felt silly, but book worm Malfoy made her much tenser than stupid git Malfoy did.

The nights began to blur together as the two followed their routine. During the day they would act no different, no passing glances were spared to the other, no odd friendship was stricken up, they were after all, still each other's enemies.

When Draco would make a snide remark towards Harry or Ron, Hermione would come to the room huffy and she made sure he knew she was less than pleased with his company and vice versa when Hermione would show him up in a class or two.

But no comradeship was wasted between them.

They might not always come at the same time each night, they might not have said a single word to the other as the hours passed, but they always came, every night.

Once in a while he would catch her sidelong looks at him, their eyes would meet, his with a burning intensity, most likely from annoyance, he would scowl and she would have the decency to act slightly embarrassed and hide behind her book for a few minutes until she unconsciously checked on him again.

The anxiety still hung in the air between them. Never leaving, but lessening to a degree.

Except for the occasional one-liner comment, that would be delivered from either side, the nights passed mostly in a quiet companionable silence. Companionable, which is what their rendezvous had become, more or less. It was comforting knowing they had a place to go to hide from the talk of spies and alliances, even though neither would admit it.

An over exaggerated clearing of Malfoys throat broke Hermione out of her hazy thoughts.

"You're bloody starring again, Granger. Could you at least try and pretend like you have manners?" He was acting overly disgruntled.

"Sod off, you twat." It always made her feel good, making a retort that made Malfoys nose scrunch up like it was now.

Hermione, looking back at her book, pinched the bridge of her nose. She really needed to focus on her work.


	5. Chapter 4

Hey all, So I know I said there would be smut, and there will be, seriously, I promise. Just give it another chapter or two. I just have a hard time believing Hermione would just jump Draco's bones in two or three chapters. So anywayyy, friendly reminder that I don't own anything. Enjoy!

The constant presence of war was all around. Buzzing incessantly in the ear of everyone involved. The air was thick with its knowledge of the upcoming events, so much so that at times it was nearly impossible to breathe. Madame Pompfey and Harry both suggested that may be due to anxiety, but Hermione would not concede to having a weakness such as that, at a time such as this.

The pressure was beginning to build, not just in the castle, but all around. Despite her denial, Hermione was slowly coming undone. She was not blind to the signs of stress. The bags under her eyes grew darker, heavier. Sleep was becoming harder and harder to find and her fuse was quickly getting shorter. She was not unaware that Malfoy was also falling victim to the strain as well.

Day after day, his sleep barren eyes matched hers.

It was midday on a Sunday and the common room in Gryffindor tower was conspicuously empty. The golden trio took advantage of this rare afternoon and settled down by the fire place, books and parchment in hand, or spread around their sprawled legs.

They took the opportunity to act as if they were normal teenagers, a luxury that was not often afforded them. The boys however, quickly forgot about their studies and took up a conversation about quidditch.

She was thumbing through a text, absent mindedly looking for a specific paragraph she needed to cite for a report, that in a couple months wasn't actually going to matter anyway, but she didn't have the heart to tell herself that. Studying, school, that was the only normalcy she had left.

She was focusing more on the feel of the pages between her fingers, the sound they made as she flipped each one, than anything else. She smiled to herself, Harry and Ron's chattering on about sports lulled her nerves. Hermione imagined she was back in first year, when her biggest concern was getting better marks than Malfoy.

Malfoy… now that was one person Hermione just could not figure out.

She was so sure she knew what kind of bloke he was. He had always been so volatile, nasty, rude and spoiled, but lately he had been showing a different side of himself. Draco had been quiet and bookish and he seemingly had decent taste in literature, he finished books off about as quickly as Hermione did.

And despite his quick lashing tongue, he had turned out to be decent company.

She was starting to think that maybe he wasn't so bad…

"He wants to contribute to the war, he just doesn't know how."

One word, one syllable. And it broke through her thoughts and crashed over her like a wave of icy water. War. Hermione wasn't even quite sure which one of the boys had said it, but she felt as though she were going to be sick.

She looked up at them. Not even really seeing them, just starring through them. Hermione was only hearing parts of their conversation. Words like, fight, battle, meeting, allies, felt like jolts in her chest. Her heart had picked up a rapid staccato beat.

Then she realized, she wasn't in a meeting, she didn't have to sit here and put herself through this. She slammed her book closed, messily gathered her notes and assorted papers and stood up. Ron and Harry just looked at her, their brows furrowed.

Hermione knew she must have looked awfully stupid, a blank expression on her face and her parchments just about to slip free from her grip, papers jutting out every which way. But did they really not understand her frustration? She couldn't help but be cross with them for not seeing her issue.

She mustered up all her ability to be angry at the pair "Do you two really have nothing else to talk about?" She turned on her heels and out into the halls of Hogwarts, leaving the boys wide eyed and confused.

Draco could've seen that mass of curls bouncing towards him from a mile away. She was clearly moving with purpose, her stride covering ground with determination. But where was Granger headed?

She had her arms wrapped around a clutter of books and crumpled notes. They were on an outside wall of the castle, that was parallel to a courtyard, so she surely wasn't going to their room, yes, THEIR room.. He couldn't help but think of it that way, despite the sinking feeling it left in his gut.

But now all he could think about was how Granger was 20 feet in front of him and her gaze was fixed on the ground, she hadn't even noticed him. Well, Draco would change that.

Hermione was having an out of body experience of sorts. She knew she was making the journey to the library, but she wasn't quite there. She could not tell you what hall she was in, if her life had depended on it. She wasn't really hearing, wasn't really seeing, her body was on autopilot as her brain tried to escape reality.

That is until a very hard mass made contact with her shoulder, making a very loud thump and leaving her muscle instantly achy. She crashed back to consciousness, quickly enough to catch her heap of school work as it threatened to tumble out of her grip, before her body whirled around from the impact. As soon as Hermione caught sight of that smirk out of the corner of her eye, something inside of her nearly broke.

Anger simmered hot inside her veins, just under the surface, threatening to boil over. It felt as though a hole had burned through the fabric of her sweater, where Malfoys broad shoulder had made contact with her own.

As she came to a stop facing him, Malfoy was brushing off invisible filth from his own shirt as he seemingly looked her up and down with a disgusted look, as he snarled, "Watch where you're going next time, Granger. Or I'll have to send you my laundry bill."

And there it was. It was as if Hermione could hear her very sanity snap. Malfoy must've heard it too, because all too suddenly Malfoys nasty snarl was replaced with a look of concern and he was backing away with a slow step.

"Granger…?" He sounded genuinely concerned, but Hermione was in no mood to notice.

She exhaled deeply and gritted her teeth, her words came out slow, but blazing. "You slimy little ferret," she no longer cared about the books in her hands, and let them drop at her feet, stepping over them towards Malfoy, "I will give you a reason to send me a hospital bill."

She pulled out her wand and in an instant the blonde had turned tail and started down the hall as fast as he could. Hermione half chuckled to herself then, no one had ever claimed that Draco Malfoy was a rocket scientist, but he certainly just proved that he was no dummy.

Still fueled by rage, Hermione followed suit after him.

"Calvario!" It was a warning shot more than anything. She didn't really want Malfoys hair to fall out. If she were being honest with herself, she had actually become quite fond of the blond hair that always seemed to be in his eyes. The curse sparked as it missed its target, landing on a pillar just to his left.

A grin formed on her face as his yelp reached her ears.

Draco had turned a corner, out of Hermione's site, into the large stone courtyard. He quickly surveyed the area, the scattered trees and benches would offer him no lasting cover. The slight distance he gained gave him time to pull his wand and face up to the witch that had apparently lost her mind. But brawling with the know it all was an opportunity Draco could not pass up, even if he could get away.

Hermione rounded the turn and came to a stop. The only thing between them was 50 feet. Draco watched as Hermione's chest heaved with the adrenaline and exertion from her sprint. He wanted to take her and sit her down on a bench, to soothe her wild hair down until she caught her breathe.

She looked so worn out. Malfoy had never been the tender sort, but seeing her cheeks, flushed he wanted to kiss them. He wanted to kiss the bags under her eyes until they disappeared. He wanted to kiss her hands that had become shaky. He wanted to stroke her spine until every one of her nerves had been soothed. He wanted to pull her to him and hold her until everything felt right again.

Instead she took another few steps forward, wand at the ready. But now that she had that snake Malfoy trapped, she wasn't sure what to do. She was running out of steam. Her head was foggy and her eye lids were heavy with sleep.

She didn't truly have the motivation to go through with any kind of real fight, she just wanted to put the blonde twit in his place for once.

Hermione wasn't even focused on the wizard across from her any more. The muscles across her shoulders felt as if they were strung so tight they were beginning to fray, as if they would snap at any second. The weight of her own wand was unbearable, her arm dropped just a fraction.

But the movement caught Malfoys eyes instantly and the look of concern he didn't even know he had, faded. A smirk was plastered across his face in no time.

"Are you nervous, Granger?" Arrogance laced around each syllable. It came so easy to him, his conceited attitude was as natural to him as walking.

At that moment, it was obvious to Hermione that Malfoy had in fact, not been put in his place. Well that just wouldn't do, She fought past her muddled brain.

"Stupefy!" The angry noise coming from her mouth didn't even sound like her own.

"Protego!" The spell ricocheted off Draco's shield charm and past her as she began moving towards Draco, trying to make up ground as he was attempting to retreat conspicuously further into the courtyard.

"Steleus!" His voice sounded helpless. The hex hit a tree somewhere off to the side of her. She could hear the bark sizzle. It was as if he wasn't even trying. A new wave of anger washed over her. Did he not think she was a serious enough threat to him that he could just mock her by not even trying to aim?

Her cheeks burnt red hot.

"What's the matter, Malfoy? Daddy couldn't afford aiming lessons?" Hermoine laughed. Laughed harder than she could remember laughing in a long time, until Draco used a Ventus spell. The wind whipped and whorled around her, she spread her feet wide trying to stay planted in place, her arms came up to protect her face from the burning gust as she flew back a few paces.

As Hermoine righted herself, Draco let a Tarantallegra spell fly. It flew past her, so close to her ear she could hear it fizzle in passing.

Draco's smirk, the one she always wished she could slap off his face was replaced with his equally as annoying snarl. He looked so old then. Standing there, his wand still in fighting position, his body poised to take a hit.

Surely he knew she never truly planned on hitting her intended target. But would she? Could she? Was she going to be able to muster the courage she knew she was going to need when it really came time?

"Don't say something you'll regret, Granger." His words were gritty and venomous.

"Sod off, Malfoy." She spit out.

As she was about to let loose another stupefy spell, Hermione's wand was ripped from her hand with a very wicked sounding expelliarmus charm. Hermione didn't need to look to see who it was, but she cringed and followed the direction her wand was flying. It joined Draco's wand in the hands of Professor McGonagall.

Just this once, Hermione had wished she hadn't been right.

Her heels tapped loudly on the stone as she marched towards them. "That is quite enough!" she sounded exasperated

Hermione regretted every decision she had made that day. As if it wasn't bad enough that she had allowed herself to get mixed up into a quarrel with Malfoy, now McGonagall had caught them red handed.

"This is outrageous behavior!" she scolded as she stepped forward between them. "50 points from each of your houses and detention."

She turned a hard eye on Malfoy. "Professor Snape will be wanting to hear about this and having a chat with you about your morals or lack thereof Mr. Malfoy."

She held out his wand for him to take. I suggest you head to his office right away

He hung his head in presumably mock shame.

"Yes ma'm" Me muttered as he strode by her, taking his wand as he passed.

He waltzed off, not looking back. Hermione couldn't resist making a face at him. Since when did acting so childish make her feel this good?

When McGonagall turned to Hermione, she dropped her head as she fiddled with an imaginary speck of dirt on her finger. She was so embarrassed, her face flushed red and her ears were hot with humiliation.

The professor began stepping towards Hermoine."Miss Granger," McGonagall said, less than amused.

"I cannot say I am surprised by Mr. Malfoys behavior, but my dear, I expected much more from you."

The disappointment in her voice struck Hermione in the gut. She looked up at the older woman then, tears threatening to burst. Why had she let herself get into such a mess? The dissatisfaction in her eyes filled the young witch with shame.

"Yes ma'm I know, I can't apologize enough." She just about choked on her words. The sympathy that replaced the anger in McGonagall's features sickened Hermione even more.

"I am disappointed in you. Go on now," She handed Hermione her wand

"I will send an owl to you later when I think of a suitable punishment for such an outrageous display as what the two of you put on here today."

Hermione nodded and lamely got her wand. She walked solemnly back through the courtyard and through the hallway. She gave herself a mental lashing as she reached the spot where she had dropped her things before chasing after Malfoy.

Her papers, were scattered by the wind, her books open and the pages creased in every which way, her pens rolled about. The hall was a chaotic mess. She found it was very symbolic of her life at that moment.


	6. Chapter 6

Sooo, I kinda want to apologize for the last chapter (and maybe a little for this one too), I felt like it was a little rushed because I just wanted to get something out there to you guys. But anyways, I hope you enjoyed it and enjoy this one regardless. Let me know what you think!

Hermione walked through the empty potions classroom to the closet at the back of the room where at least a hundred cauldrons were stacked up on shelves. The room had only a bench and a utility sink, the perfect place for the most perfectly agonizing punishment.

Scrubbing cauldrons! She couldn't believe it. But Hermione supposed she should be happy that she hadn't gotten expelled, she cringed at the memory of her indiscretion. How could she be so childish? How could she of let her emotions get so out of hand?

Well at least she could suffer through her punishment alone. She might've died from embarrassment if she were stuck in this tiny room with Malfoy.

Hermione set to work. Placing the cauldrons on the floor, filling them with hot water and soap and letting them soak, she attempted to find a sponge she thought was going to be suitable enough to scrape the layers of grime that had been baked onto the cast iron.

She sighed deeply as she sat down, legs sprawled with a cauldron in between them and set to work scrubbing, she could hear the sound of foot steps traveling across the classroom in her direction.

Perfect, she thought to herself, probably Professor Snape coming to make my life even more miserable.

The door to the closet opened and closed as Hermione was focusing on a particularly stubborn gritty substances that refused to give way to its hold on the cauldron. She was trying not to over analyze what said substance might've been when an all to familiar voice broke the silence.

"Just lovely."

She froze as her heart sunk. Why couldn't it of been Snape?

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she could feel the burn from it. She looked up into the icy blue eyes of one Draco Malfoy.

This day could not possibly get any worse…

He tossed a pack he had been carrying on his shoulder onto the table. "Glad to see you've finally got some sense and started representing the best house at Hogwarts." He motioned with his chin to her shirt, the color of Slytherin.

Hermione hadn't thought too hard on her choice in clothes. She had thrown on a pair of old jeans and a dark green tee that had white paint splattered here and there from when her and her parents had repainted their living room. She regretted her choice in clothing instantly.

Her tongue burned with a comeback, but instead she gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to the task at hand. She was not going to feed into him. She was not going to cause yet another disastrous scene.

Malfoy stood for a minute with his arms crossed. Towering over the Gryffindor, waiting, hoping for a retort. When none came he chortled, moving across the room to the sink where he plucked a sponge from the rim, sat down at one of the cauldron across from Hermione, and began to slosh the bubbly soapy water around. He just wanted to get this over with.

They moved pretty quickly for a haphazard team. With the two of them scrubbing, rinsing and putting the cauldrons up within 2 hours they were down to the last ten.

They had sat in silence, working. Luckily, as it turns out the scrubbing took more attention than one would think, so there wasn't much time for either to really attempt to annoy the other. And hadn't they sat in silence most nights like this anyway?

Hermione stopped then, using her forearm to wipe her brow where some water had splashed. She hadn't gone to their room last night, not after their little incident. She wondered if he had.

She glanced at Draco through her lashes. His brow was furrowed in concentration and his tongue was sticking out between his teeth slightly.

Hermione noticed that he did that often when he seemed to be deep in thought. She knew if he was enjoying a particular book because the tell-tale tip of his tongue would just peek out past his teeth.

The dark circles under his eyes were still there, she wanted to smooth them away. She wanted to run her fingertips across all the worried lines on his face, until they were smooth and relaxed.

He was wearing his normal Hogwarts uniform. He had his sleeves rolled up, with his forearms elbow deep in the cauldron he was working on. She looked down at her fingertips then.

My fingers are all pruned…

"Don't worry, I'm sure your boyfriend the Weasel won't mind." Draco said vaguely, still scrubbing enthusiastically. Hermione hadn't even realized she spoke out loud.

She looked up again and this time she met the blue eyes that made her squirm. She should've been cross with him for acting like an arse, but she was far to use to it by now. They sat like that, just looking at each other, until the tension in the room felt suffocating.

"I'm sorry for what happened." Was all that she could think to say to break through the rigidity of the situation.

Draco's eyes dropped from hers to her bottom lip, which she was suddenly aware that she was chewing on.

All Draco could look at was the bottom lip. He wanted to steal it away from her teeth and taste it between his own.

He shifted uncomfortable as his cock twitched at the sight of her shirt, just slightly wet in certain places, clinging to just the right parts of her. It made his mouth water when he could just make out her nipples, beginning to harden beneath the moist material.

He wanted to devour her. It was too much for him to bare, he had lost all restraint when he reached forward and grabbed her by the ankle. The jean fabric was rough against his skin, he wanted to feel her flesh between his fingers instead.

Hermione's eyes grew wide as Malfoy suddenly stretched across the space between them and took ahold of her. He was so strong, it took no effort at all for him to slide her across the floor.

She couldn't bite back the yelp of surprise that escaped from between her lips.

She swung her other leg just in time so that she didn't knock the half full cauldron over, and drag it with her.

Everything was in slow motion. She knew she would practically be on top of Malfoy in just a second, but it was taking forever.

It was terrifying. She was trying to figure out what Malfoy was playing at. But the only expression on his face was a devilish grin and a fierce determination in his eyes. He reminded her faintly of a wolf getting ready to consume a sheep.

And for some reason this caused an intense heat to pool in her belly.

"Do I make you nervous, Granger?" His voice like velvet and his eye half lidded. He was all predator and she would be lying if she said it didn't fill her chest heavy with need.

And then she panicked.

She twisted her body around, grabbing at her wand, whirled back to face a Malfoy who had a cocked brow and sported a challenging grin. She didn't even stop to think about what she was doing as she pointed to the cauldron next to Malfoy and barely squeaked out "Ebublio!" before she was inches from his face.

Draco stopped pulling Granger towards him as he turned to look at the cauldron, just as a giant bubble was inflating and floating out from the top of the soapy water. He turned back to look at Gryffindor's princess, she had wide eyes and her mouth was agape, but before Draco could think to move away, the bubble exploded with a distinguished pop.

Draco sat back in surprise as a billion tiny, shiny, wet bubbles covered his entire body. Hermione had rolled onto her back, gripping at her stomach, which no doubt ached from the amount of giggles and laughter she was exuding at the site before her.

He stood up then, trying to swipe and shake the bubbles away, but his efforts proved useless except to cause Hermione laughing fit to worsen. She was gasping from laughing so hard and clutching at her stomach. He was flailing and waddling.

Somewhere in the back of Hermione's thoughts, she decided he looked like a penguin that had been put through the washing machine.

The bubbles slowly began to disperse, with each minuscule wet plop, another inch of Malfoy was uncovered. As the last of the bubble dissolved back into the universe, Hermione had managed to compose herself enough to sit up, though she was still racked with a giggle here or there, brought on by the horrified look on Malfoys face.

"Very funny, Granger." He half chuckled himself. He flashed her a toothy grin before turning and walking towards the table where his bag lay.

At least he was in good humor she thought to herself.

Draco was soaked. His shirt and slacks clung to him uncomfortably.

Hermione was still trying to stifle a chuckle when Draco slid his wet shirt over his head and splatted it down on the table.

She swallowed down the laugh that was building in her throat. Heat flooded her cheeks and turned them a violent red.

Draco hadn't even thought twice. He was ruffling through his sack, he always kept a change of clothes with him during quidditch season so he could switch after practice.

The sudsy water that had soaked through his shirt left his skin looking slick. It accentuated the ropey muscles that lined his body. Muscles Hermione couldn't help but appreciate. Her mouth watered at the sight of his shoulders and forearms flexing here and there as he continued the pursuit through his belongings.

It was if Hermione wasn't even in the room.

His pants were hanging low enough that she could make out small dimples in his lower back. His muscles stretched taught and strong, made a hot coil burn even lower in her belly. He was beautiful…

But this is Draco Malfoy, her head screamed. He wasn't supposed to be beautiful.

Her mind was fighting hopelessly against her body. She stood up, every fiber of her being telling her to sit back down. She took slow careful steps towards Malfoy, trying to will her legs to stop with every step.

When she got so close to him that he could feel her hot breath fan across the nape of his neck, he froze.

Draco could hear the faint rustling of her clothes as Granger moved behind him. For a second, he panicked, thinking maybe she had been given orders to get rid of him. The Dark Lord had been giving his followers similar orders, after all.

But instead of feeling a curse or jinx intrude his flesh, the warmth of her soft pants invaded every nerve across his exposed back.

He strained to listen to the sound of her breathing. He closed his eyes, focusing on nothing but the deep lulling of her breath and attempting to gain control of his racing heart.

Hermione raised a hand up so tentatively that the voice inside her head screaming that this was not right, nearly won out.

Her soft fingers reached out and stroked so lightly against his shoulder blade as it made its decent down his spin that electricity shot through Draco, making him shiver and groan deep in his throat.

The sound that Hermione evoked struck her hard, making her legs quiver and the heat in her core intensify. She nearly had to grab at his hip to keep herself from falling down.

Draco slowly crooned his head, just so he could get a glimpse at Granger, he dare not move anymore. She was biting her lip and it drove him mad. His cock was already tight against the uncomfortable wet fabric of his pants.

He felt as if he were trying to get a look at a trapped animal, he was too afraid he would scare her away. But Hermione was so transfixed on the muscles jumping under her fingertips, she hadn't noticed his blazing eyes searching for her.

She traced along the curve of the muscles along his lower back, mesmerized on the tiny hairs that stood on edge covering his skin. Then without thinking, she closed the small gap between them and, with such tenderness that made Malfoy hiss, placed a kiss between his shoulder blades.

It seared him. It felt as though embers grew from her lips and burned his skin, creating a wild fire in his veins. A growl rumbled deep in his chest, it was so primal that it startled her.

Hermione jumped back as the door to the classroom was opened and footsteps began heading towards the cauldron closet. She turned on her heals and quickly busied herself with the remaining cauldrons.

Malfoy was gripping so tightly to the fabric of his pack that his knuckles had gone white. Blood was pounding in his ears. He took a deep breath in an attempt to clear his head. He just managed to get his top button done and turn around to see Hermione messily putting up the remaining cauldrons before Snape opened the door and stepped in the room.

Hermione whirled around the room finishing up what needed to be done. She glanced at Malfoy, his face void of expression as she rushed past Professor Snape, avoiding his deadly glare.

Draco thought he heard her murmur "All done." As the Granger, in true Gryffindor form, hastily slipped past the head of Slytherin house without so much as a second look as Snape was boring his gaze into her.

He turned his stare on Draco then, a quizzical line to his brow. The blonde could only muster a shrug of his shoulders in response. Malfoy knew by the look in Snape's eyes that he was in for a very long, agonizing discussion about matters he wished he knew nothing about.

Draco nodded and agreed and grunted on occasions he felt called for it as he focused in and out on their conversation. But his mind was still on the cindering of his skin that he was sure was burning a scar into his soul.

The prodigal son of Slytherin lay in bed that night, wishing he had, had the guts to use the wild haired know it all as target practice instead of letting her walk away from their spat unscathed. Then maybe she would be in as much pain as he was.

She was torturing him. Creeping into his head, crumbling everything he thought he knew. She was killing him. Figuratively of course, but killing him all the same.

Hermione hadn't noticed that her hands kept fluttering to her lips until Ron had said something to her later the next morning in the Great Hall.


End file.
